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The rise of extreme economic inequality is a serious blow to the fight against gender inequality and a threat to women’s rights. Women’s economic empowerment has the potential to transform many women’s lives for the better and support economic growth. However, unless the causes of extreme economic

Sunday 13 March 2016 will mark one year since Tropical Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu causing widespread destruction across the eastern and southeastern islands of the country. In the 12 months since the event, more than 50 organisations, both local and international, have worked together under the lead of the Vanuatu Government to ensure relief efforts are coordinated and aid is getting to those who need it most.

The global inequality crisis is reaching new extremes. The richest 1% now have more wealth than the rest of the world combined. A global network of tax havens further enables the richest individuals to hide US$7.6 trillion. Click below to download the summary or the full report.

A super-charged weather phenomenon will see millions of poor and vulnerable people face hunger and poverty this year and next, as recent record global temperatures, droughts and erratic rains are compounded by what could be the most powerful El Niño on record. Harvests and livelihoods have faltered as drought has taken hold across parts of Africa, the Pacific, Asia, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

What will the Paris climate change agreement be remembered for? People demanded action. After sleeping for too long, leaders opened their eyes. But it's a mixed bag - powerful governments failed to put our common interest at the forefront.

Climate change is inextricably linked to economic inequality: it is a crisis that is driven by the greenhouse gas emissions of the "haves" that hits the "have-nots" the hardest.

The poorest half of the global population – around 3.5 billion people – are responsible for only around 10 per cent of total global emissions attributed to individual consumption, yet live overwhelmingly in the countries most vulnerable to climate change.

There is likely to be a climate deal in Paris. The emission pledges that more than 150 governments have put on the table this year show that global climate ambition is increasing. But much more is needed, as it’s a deal that could still lead to around 3°C of warming.

On April 25, 2015, Nepal was struck by a massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake that left nearly 9,000 people dead and destroyed or damaged more than 850,000 homes. Many of the affected people have received some support from the Government of Nepal and aid organisations, but others are still waiting for assistance. The government’s response has been beset by delays, and for the past month the country has been in the grip of a fuel crisis.

The arrival of tens of thousands of Syrians to Europe’s borders and the shocking deaths of women, children and men on their perilous journey has been a sharp reminder to the international community of the tragedy engulfing the people of Syria. Syrians put themselves and their families at so much risk only out of sheer desperation.

Millions of poor people in the Pacific face hunger and poverty this year and next because of droughts and erratic rains as global temperatures reach new records, and because of the onset of a powerful El Niño – the climate phenomenon that develops in the tropical Pacific and brings extreme weather to several regions of the world. The combination of record warmth one year followed by an El Niño the next is unique and the climatic implications are uncertain. If 2016 follows a similar pattern, we are entering uncharted waters.